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LAHORE: To reduce its administrative expenditures, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) will take drastic steps to reduce its staff, especially directors.

The number of directors will be cut to two from five as most of the departments will be run by managers instead of directors.
Well-informed sources told Dawn that such steps would be taken at the PFF annual Congress, which will meet here on September 17.

The sources however added that the directors of operations and development will be retained.

It may be mentioned here that the PFF had appointed five directors in the past, violating the constitutional requirement of the Asian Football Confederation, which binds its affiliated country to have at least nine directors.

“The PFF is a cash-strapped body, which can’t even afford to bear the expenses of four or five directors,” a PFF official said on the condition of anonymity.

“The annual financial income of the PFF is just Rs25 million, including annual grant of FIFA which is US$250,000, but the salary account is Rs10 million, which is almost 40 per cent of the budget,” the official said.

After paying the salaries, an insufficient amount remained in the PFF kitty to run huge domestic and international programmes, therefore, the Congress would take serious steps to tackle these problems.

He said PFF president Faisal Saleh Hayat had requested the federal government to issue a special grant of Rs200 million which was not issued.

The official said the post of marketing director would also be dissolved. However, any person, who wants to work with the federation on honorary basis, would be welcome.

The official said the performance of the marketing department was not satisfactory.

There are some reports that the PFF sent its national U-23 team to take part in the last year Asian Games in China at its own expenses, as the marketing department, headed by Sardar Naved, could not generate enough funds through sponsorships,
while the government also refused to issue funds.